The types of personal communication devices used in various available communication networks have increased in the past several years. Users of personal communication devices have available to them such devices as cellular phones (many of which are of the smartphone variety), tablets, laptops, wireline phones and other devices. Users who are hearing impaired and/or who suffer from some type of speech impediment, for the most part, cannot use a typical personal telecommunication device to any effective extent without having to undergo a lengthy process of registering for subscription to additional features provided by the service provider to whom they currently subscribe. Many times, such subscribers are provided with special equipment and need to go through certain arrangements in order to receive the desired services from their service providers. For example, for a telephone call, a user may have to dial a special number prior to making a telephone call; the special number allows the user's communication device to communicate directly with an agent or customer service personnel of the service provider to allow for the allocation of special equipment and other resources in establishing and/or maintaining the telephone call. In many circumstances, each time a user wants to change or add features, the user has to go though the registration process, usually with a customer service personnel of the service provider, to effectuate the special features.
One of the features on which hearing impaired users rely is the transcribing of incoming voice that allows these users to receive captioned text representing the words being spoken by another party during an established telephone call between the user and the other party. Another feature may be where the equipment may have text transmission capabilities whereby the subscriber types his/her responses during the conversation because the subscriber may have a speech impediment in addition to being deaf or hearing impaired. Further, because of a speech impediment of a subscriber, or a user wanting to become a subscriber, a conversation between a customer agent and a user may be virtually impossible, or at the very least, extremely difficult.
With the state of communication devices today, a user with a speech impediment will have great difficulty in conveying his/her request for special services being provided by a service provider. Further, such a user may have special requests for services not advertised by the service provider, but may be well within the set of services such a provider could provide. Without having the ability to properly convey their desired features for communication services to a service provider or an agent thereof, users who are hearing impaired and/or users who have a speech impediment may not be able to take advantage of some of the communication services designed especially for them. Ironically, this problem fundamentally stems from a lack of communication capability between the user and an agent of the service provider.